Winter Haven Building Products Hits Emotional 100 Year Milestone

Richard Dugger, 60, left, president of Haven Building Products, and his father Herman (Gene) Dugger, 81, former president and now retired, hold a photograph of Herman's grandfather and company founder Albert A. Dugger. The company, formerly known as Winter Haven Planing Mills, is celebrating its 100th anniversary.

Published: Monday, November 4, 2013 at 12:40 a.m.

Last Modified: Monday, November 4, 2013 at 12:40 a.m.

WINTER HAVEN | Haven Building Products didn't just make it through the Great Recession — it survived a century's worth of booms, busts and everything in between.

Through 10 decades of history and change one thing has remained constant: the Dugger family, which continues to lead Haven Building Products today.

"We didn't have any idea what a forklift was when I was first working down there (in 1946) ... everything was done by hand," said Gene Dugger, 81, the company's retired president. "We still had a couple Model A trucks."

The construction supplies firm celebrated its anniversary last month, and it was a particularly emotional milestone. Just a few years ago the Duggers were unsure whether their family business would make it to this point.

"For seven years prior to the recession we were doing well, every year was better than the year before. It was great. We were on top of the world," said current president Richard Dugger, 60, Gene's son. "And then in 2008 when things really took a dive, 90 percent of our business went away ... pardon my language, but it was tougher than hell."

Founded by Illinois businessman Albert Adolphus Dugger, the company began as Winter Haven Planing Mills in 1913, based on Sixth Street Southwest. Raw timber was hauled in by mules, and steam-powered saws cut it into materials for use in buildings that included the Haven Hotel and University of Florida facilities.

The Planing Mills' steam whistle was a daily part of life in the growing Winter Haven community.

"It went off at 7, 12, 1 and 5 every day, and people all over town went to work and got off work by that," said Gene's wife, Peggy Dugger.

The company's name changed in 1967 — not many people knew what a planing mill did, Gene says — and nine years ago the business relocated to Hammond Drive after the Duggers sold their property to the expanding Velda Farms (now Borden) dairy.

Another shift came in the late 1980s, as Haven Building Products started cutting out sales of general merchandise (lawn mowers, garden hoses, etc.) as "big box" home improvement stores became more prevalent.

"From my generation, it was a difficult task to differentiate ourselves from a Lowe's or Home Depot," Richard Dugger said. "We struggled with a lot of that kind of stuff, but we had to do something where we didn't compete directly in the same marketplace the big boxes did. So we really brought in our focus and focused on what builders of any type want."

Haven Building Products phased out its own manufacturing and lumber planing operations decades ago, and today the company acts as a material supplier for residential and commercial builders — selling wood, doors, and things like specialty fiberglass and PVC items. Being so closely attached to the construction industry, the firm was devastated when local home production nearly came to a halt during the recession.

"I went from having 37 employees in 2007 to by the end of 2008 having seven," Richard Dugger said. "We lost 90 percent of our sales, and for about the next two years, every month I was taking money out of my pocket to keep the doors open. Our competition, almost all of them went out of business."

Polk's construction activity is on a significant rebound in 2013 and Haven Building Products is seeing a turnaround of its own. The business employs 24 people — nine have been added since the start of the year — and Richard Dugger projects revenues to increase more than 25 percent next year.

It appears unlikely that the next generation of Duggers will take over the family business, but Richard says he hopes to have a team in place that will keep Haven Building Products going strong once his time is done.

"(Recently) somebody asked me, ‘Well what's the next step?' And I said ‘200 years,'" Dugger says with a laugh. "I'm really proud of the way my forefathers, the way they kept changing the company and doing what needed to be done. I hope the foundation we're leaving here, if anything else, is that change is good, embrace the change. Look for the change — be something different. Do something that your competition is not doing."

[ Kyle Kennedy can be reached at kyle.kennedy@theledger.com or 863-802-7584. ]

<p>WINTER HAVEN | Haven Building Products didn't just make it through the Great Recession — it survived a century's worth of booms, busts and everything in between.</p><p>Through 10 decades of history and change one thing has remained constant: the Dugger family, which continues to lead Haven Building Products today.</p><p>"We didn't have any idea what a forklift was when I was first working down there (in 1946) ... everything was done by hand," said Gene Dugger, 81, the company's retired president. "We still had a couple Model A trucks."</p><p>The construction supplies firm celebrated its anniversary last month, and it was a particularly emotional milestone. Just a few years ago the Duggers were unsure whether their family business would make it to this point.</p><p>"For seven years prior to the recession we were doing well, every year was better than the year before. It was great. We were on top of the world," said current president Richard Dugger, 60, Gene's son. "And then in 2008 when things really took a dive, 90 percent of our business went away ... pardon my language, but it was tougher than hell."</p><p>Founded by Illinois businessman Albert Adolphus Dugger, the company began as Winter Haven Planing Mills in 1913, based on Sixth Street Southwest. Raw timber was hauled in by mules, and steam-powered saws cut it into materials for use in buildings that included the Haven Hotel and University of Florida facilities.</p><p>The Planing Mills' steam whistle was a daily part of life in the growing Winter Haven community.</p><p>"It went off at 7, 12, 1 and 5 every day, and people all over town went to work and got off work by that," said Gene's wife, Peggy Dugger.</p><p>The company's name changed in 1967 — not many people knew what a planing mill did, Gene says — and nine years ago the business relocated to Hammond Drive after the Duggers sold their property to the expanding Velda Farms (now Borden) dairy.</p><p>Another shift came in the late 1980s, as Haven Building Products started cutting out sales of general merchandise (lawn mowers, garden hoses, etc.) as "big box" home improvement stores became more prevalent.</p><p>"From my generation, it was a difficult task to differentiate ourselves from a Lowe's or Home Depot," Richard Dugger said. "We struggled with a lot of that kind of stuff, but we had to do something where we didn't compete directly in the same marketplace the big boxes did. So we really brought in our focus and focused on what builders of any type want."</p><p>Haven Building Products phased out its own manufacturing and lumber planing operations decades ago, and today the company acts as a material supplier for residential and commercial builders — selling wood, doors, and things like specialty fiberglass and PVC items. Being so closely attached to the construction industry, the firm was devastated when local home production nearly came to a halt during the recession.</p><p>"I went from having 37 employees in 2007 to by the end of 2008 having seven," Richard Dugger said. "We lost 90 percent of our sales, and for about the next two years, every month I was taking money out of my pocket to keep the doors open. Our competition, almost all of them went out of business."</p><p>Polk's construction activity is on a significant rebound in 2013 and Haven Building Products is seeing a turnaround of its own. The business employs 24 people — nine have been added since the start of the year — and Richard Dugger projects revenues to increase more than 25 percent next year.</p><p>It appears unlikely that the next generation of Duggers will take over the family business, but Richard says he hopes to have a team in place that will keep Haven Building Products going strong once his time is done.</p><p>"(Recently) somebody asked me, 'Well what's the next step?' And I said '200 years,'" Dugger says with a laugh. "I'm really proud of the way my forefathers, the way they kept changing the company and doing what needed to be done. I hope the foundation we're leaving here, if anything else, is that change is good, embrace the change. Look for the change — be something different. Do something that your competition is not doing." </p><p>[ Kyle Kennedy can be reached at kyle.kennedy@theledger.com or 863-802-7584. ]</p>